Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2012

CONTACT: Matt Bach
Dir. of Communications
Michigan Municipal League
(734) 669-6317 or mbach@mml.org

Alpena Wins Region 6 Nomination in League Competition

Arts and Culture Project Now in Running for Statewide Community Excellence Award

Alpena Mayor Matt Waligora accepts the Region 6 CEA nomination.
View and download additional photos of the 2012 CEA finalists.

LANSING, MICHIGAN - The city of Alpena earned top honors as the Michigan Municipal League’s Region 6 Community Excellence Award winner at the Michigan Municipal League 2012 Capital Conference Lansing on Tuesday, March 20. The region includes all communities in the northern portion of the Lower Peninsula.

Alpena used a $20,000 pilot grant from the League’s Center for 21st Century Communities (21c3) to partner with Michigan Arts and Culture, Northeast (MACNE) on a cultural economic development project to promote the area as an arts and culture destination to drive economic development and enhance quality of life while creating a true sense of place.

Alpena competed for the regional title against two other projects: Rogers City’s Facebook page that was developed to communicate with the public and showcase the city at no cost; and Manistee’s “Ham It Up,” a campaign intended to promote healthy all-season activity through the reuse of a former industrial site for non-motorized recreation.

Alpena will now go on to compete against the other six regional winners for the statewide CEA at the League’s Annual Convention Oct. 3-5 on Mackinac Island. The CEA program, affectionately called “The Race for the Cup,” was started by the League in 2007 to recognize innovative solutions taking place in Michigan’s cities, villages and urban townships.

For more information contact Matt Bach, communications director for the Michigan Municipal League at (734) 669-6317 or mbach@mml.org.

The Michigan Municipal League advocates on behalf of its member communities in Lansing, Washington D.C., and the courts; provides educational opportunities for elected and appointed municipal officials; and assists municipal leaders in administering services to their communities through League programs and services.

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